namaste man

I got lost.

That’s basically the whole story. I mean, there’s a few details to pass along, but that’s basically it. I got lost. Right when I was supposed to be somewhere.

Namaste Man tells the story of an American kid growing up in Kathmandu, Nepal in the 1970’s, living between a maternity hospital and a leper colony, finding his way on streets clogged with taxis, rickshaws, farmers, priests, hippies, Indian trucks belching black fire, tourists, cows, chickens, dogs, rhesus monkeys, Peace Corps volunteers, bicycles, kids playing marbles, cows–ooops, already mentioned cows–trekkers, refugees, holy pilgrims, foreign kids like him wearing tie-dyed bell-bottoms.

It’s the story of a man in middle age, lost in the streets of New York City, haunted by three ghosts–the magical and unreachable Kathmandu of his memory, and the two extraordinary parents who brought him there. Then there’s the mysterious Mr. Lama who just wants to find his brother. Maybe.

Dozens of characters. The Himalayas. Brooklyn. Gods, cows and various foreigners (some of them American).

the creation of kathmandu valley. before my time.

A very important cowbell. Very important.

this is my bell

First love. One or two songs. The magic of theater. A touch of death. Christmas Eve. The night in Kathmandu when my mother cut off all her hair. Football! A Tibetan woman in Union Square Park the day after 9/11 who whispers a great secret. Namaste Man.

Namaste Man was produced in 2008 at the Intiman Theater in Seattle, directed by Bartlett Sher, with set and costumes by Elizabeth Caitlin Ward, lighting by Greg Sullivan, sound by Peter John Still. The stage manager was Lisa Chernoff.

kathmandu. new york. seattle.

It was produced in 2010 at Boise Contemporary Theater, directed by Davis McCallum, with set and costumes by Marion Williams, lighting by Rachelle Davis, and sound by Peter John Still. The stage manager was Kristy J. Martin. This production later played Two River Theater.